New Delhi: Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal has for the sixth time skipped the Enforcement Directorate’s summon, asking him to appear before it for questioning in a money laundering case linked to the Delhi excise policy.
Claiming that the probe agency’s summon is “illegal”, the AAP, in a statement, reiterated that the matter of their “validity” is in the court now. “The ED itself approached the court. Instead of sending summons again and again, the ED should wait for the court’s decision,” the party said.
On February 14, the probe agency issued its sixth summons to Kejriwal, asking him to appear before it on February 19. he earlier five were issued on February 2, January 18, January 3, December 22, 2023 and November 2, 2023.
As Kejriwal failed to appear after multiple summonses, the ED had sought the court’s intervention and noted the it accepted that the AAP supremo committed an offence for which he is liable to be prosecuted.
On Saturday, the Delhi court granted exemption to Kejriwal from personal appearance for the day in connection with a complaint filed by the ED against him over non-compliance with its summonses.
The agency, on the other hand, said that it wanted to document Kejriwal’s statement on policy formulation, pre-finalisation of meetings, and allegations of bribery pertaining to the case.
In its sixth charge sheet submitted on December 2, 2023, regarding the case, the central agency named AAP leader Sanjay Singh and his associate Sarvesh Mishra. The ED alleged that the AAP utilized kickbacks amounting to Rs 45 crore, which were generated through the policy, as a component of its assembly elections campaign in Goa in 2022.
